Business secretary John Hutton said: “I’m glad that the union said that there should be a pause for reflection and I’m very glad that later today there will be discussions between the unions and the company to try and find a way of resolving this dispute.

“There is a gap between the two sides that has got to be bridged – only the two parties themselves can reach an agreement. No-one can do that for them.

Emergency fuel supplies arrived in Scotland to ease the pressure on forecourts on Monday, with more due to be shipped in from Europe.”